Preventive Dental Care

• Daily oral care is important. Brush your teeth and gums with a soft bristle toothbrush at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
• Use dental floss daily to clean between your teeth.
• Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months

• Eat a balanced diet and limit between-meal snacks. Avoid sugars and starches when snacking, and limit the number of snacks eaten throughout the day.
• Avoid drinking soft drinks such as sodas and sports drinks. These beverages are a serious cause of tooth enamel erosion.
• Do not smoke or chew tobacco.

• Your dentist or oral hygienist does a better job cleaning your teeth than you can do yourself at home.
• An exam of the mouth can provide early detection of pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions.
• Your dentist can offer advice about protective measures such as supplemental fluoride and dental sealants.

Dental sealants are an effective, but underused protection against cavities.

• Fluoride treatments and dental sealants help prevent cavities, especially in younger patients, who are often less mindful of their oral hygiene and habits.
• In the same way that calcium builds bone strength, fluoride enhances enamel strength, which diminishes the risk of tooth decay. While most public water contains fluoride, additional fluoride applications can further protect your teeth.

• Cradle your baby with one arm
• Wrap a moistened washcloth around the index finger of your free hand
• Gently massage the gum tissues

Infants normally begin teething between four and six months of age. 

• When gums hurt, give your infant a chilled clean teething ring.
• Once a tooth comes in, start to use a child's soft bristled toothbrush, with no toothpaste, in addition to massaging the gum tissues.
• Schedule your child's first dental appointment. Your child should have an exam by a dentist before his/her first birthday or within 6 months after the first tooth comes in.

Continue to brush your child's teeth twice a day with plain water

• By 30 months of age, all of the primary (first) teeth should have come into the mouth.
• At age 2, begin brushing with a pea-sized amount (small smear) of fluoridated toothpaste. 
• Teach your child to spit out the toothpaste. Observe to ensure that your child does not swallow the toothpaste.

Water is the best drink for preschoolers

Children should be able to brush unsupervised by the age of 6 or 7 

However, it is important for parents to keep tabs on their child's dental routines.  According to the CDC, approximately 1 of 5 (20%) children aged 5 to 11 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth.

• Your child should brush for two minutes, at least two times a day, with a pea-sized amount of fluoridated toothpaste
• At age 10, teach your child how to use dental floss.

• It's important to understand that children lose baby teeth at 6-12 years of age.  In preparation, monitor your child and encourage them to tell you if/when they lose a tooth.
• If your child loses or knocks out a baby tooth, do not put it back in place. This will damage the adult tooth underneath the gum. 
• If an adult tooth (that has grown in after the loss of the baby tooth) is knocked out or damaged, schedule an appointment with your dentist immediately. 

Tooth decay, also known as dental caries or cavities, is among the world's most common health problems. It is especially common in children, teenagers, and older adults, but anyone who has teeth can get cavities, including infants. If cavities aren't treated, they can lead to severe toothaches, infection, and tooth loss.

Cavities are caused by a combination of factors, including bacteria in your mouth, frequent snacking, sipping sugary drinks, and not cleaning your teeth well. A sticky film of bacteria, called plaque, constantly forms on your teeth. When you eat food or drink beverages that have sugar in them, the bacteria make acids that attack tooth enamel, the hard, outer layer of your teeth, causing tiny openings. The stickiness of the plaque keeps these acids in contact with your teeth, the enamel breaks down, and cavities can form.

The signs and symptoms of cavities can vary from mild to extreme, depending on their size and location. They can include tooth sensitivity; toothache; pain when eating or drinking something sweet, hot, or cold; visible holes or pits in your teeth; brown, black, or white staining on a tooth surface; and pain when you bite down.

Fluoride is a chemical that not only prevents tooth decay but can also reverse it at a its early stages. Most communities put fluoride in drinking water, so drinking tap water can help. Check with your dentist to see if a daily fluoride rinse is a good idea for you. Also, dentists and oral hygienists can apply fluoride directly to your teeth during an office visit.

If a cavity is too large, a dentist can prevent further decay by drilling and replacing it with a filling or crown. In severe cases, you may need a root canal or an extraction. Your dentist will have advice for you in these cases.

• Periodontal diseases, also known as gum diseases, are mainlythe result of infections and inflammation of the gums and bone that surroundand support the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums canbecome swollen and red, and they may bleed.
• In its more serious form, calledperiodontitis, the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and theteeth may loosen or even fall out. 
• Periodontal disease is mostly seen inadults. Periodontal disease and tooth decay are the two biggest threats todental health.

• Bacteria in the mouth infect tissue surrounding the tooth,causing inflammation around the tooth leading to periodontal disease. 
• Whenbacteria stay on the teeth long enough, they form a film called plaque, whicheventually hardens to tartar, also called calculus. 
• Tartar build-up can spreadbelow the gum line, which makes the teeth harder to clean. 
• Then, only a dentalhealth professional can remove the tartar and stop the periodontal diseaseprocess.

• Red, swollen, tender, or bleeding gums
• Loose or sensitive teeth
• Gums that have pulled away from your teeth

• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Poor oral hygiene
• Stress

• Gingivitis can be controlled and treated with good oralhygiene and regular professional cleaning. 
• More severe forms of periodontaldisease can also be treated successfully but may require more extensive treatment,like deep cleaning of the tooth root surfaces below the gums. 
• To help preventor control periodontal diseases, it is important to brush and floss every dayto remove the bacteria that cause gum disease.